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TotallyWorthLife (She/Her) lemmy.world TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-05-13
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I know there is the Anarquist FAQ, is it a good starting point?

I know for a fact that I have attention span issues, and I find it hard to make myself accountable to read it, so, do you have any advice about that as well?

If I ever get to finish what is currently on it, what should I do after section J? Read other books? If so, which ones?

10   Original
punkisundead [they/them] slrpnk.net punkisundead@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2023-06-25
#2 · Quote Reply

Do you have any favorite mediums? i would look specifically for information there, because I believe learnign shouldnt be extra hard.

I remember watching a bunch of youtube in addition to reading books when I first got interested.

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punkisundead [they/them] slrpnk.net punkisundead@slrpnk.net
Joined: 2023-06-25
#3 · (edited) Quote Reply

I know there is the Anarquist FAQ, is it a good starting point?

Not in particual, its a FAQ and great when you have a question in mind you want an answer to. But without any question its kinda tedious and structured not really to be read from beginning to end. Maybe you can ask for others in the anarchist FAQ reading group how they like it as an starting point. (Just saw that you already commented there)

If I ever get to finish what is currently on it, what should I do after section J? Read other books? If so, which ones?

If you finish it, you will have read many citations of many anarchist authors, maybe those will given you a sense with which of those you vibe best and which writing style fits for you.


Additionally I want to link to an older thread: I'm beginning to come around to anarchism, got any reading suggestions?

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Zombie feddit.uk Zombie@feddit.uk
Joined: 2024-06-01
#4 · Quote Reply

The FAQ is huge and reading it is as dry and boring as reading The Bible, The Silmarillion, or legal texts.

A good alternative is Now and After. It was specifically written to be more accessible than most political texts.

Berkman's work explains anarchist philosophy in terms that uninitiated readers can understand. The book's chapters are brief, and many of them begin with questions (e.g., "Is Anarchism Violence?", "Will Communist Anarchism Work?"). A number of the ideas he discusses are similar to those proposed in The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin, whom Berkman cites throughout. Berkman avoids the sort of jargon and technical language that is often used by political writers in favour of plain language. As he writes in his foreword:

Anarchist books, with few exceptions, are not accessible to the understanding of the average reader. It is the common failing of most works dealing with social questions that they are written on the assumption that the reader is already familiar to a considerable extent with the subject, which is generally not the case at all. As a result there are very few books treating of social problems in a sufficiently simple and intelligible manner. For the above reason I consider a restatement of the Anarchist position very much needed at this time—a restatement in the plainest and clearest terms which can be understood by every one. That is, an ABC of Anarchism.[11]

Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_and_After

Available to read or download in multiple formats, for free, here: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alexander-berkman-what-is-communist-anarchism

It was written in the 1920s, so there's a bit of a dated feel to the informal writing style but it's fine.

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A404 lemmy.dbzer0.com A404@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2026-04-11
#5 · (edited) Quote Reply

Anarchy works answers most frequently asked questions.

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TotallyWorthLife (She/Her) lemmy.world TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-05-13
#6 · Quote Reply

Do you have any favorite mediums? i would look specifically for information there, because I believe learnign shouldnt be extra hard. I remember watching a bunch of youtube in addition to reading books when I first got interested.

Nothing in particular, but I can say texts are usually hard for me.

1
TotallyWorthLife (She/Her) lemmy.world TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-05-13
#7 · Quote Reply

I know there is the Anarquist FAQ, is it a good starting point? Not in particual, its a FAQ and great when you have a question in mind you want an answer to. But without any question its kinda tedious and structured not really to be read from beginning to end. Maybe you can ask for others in the anarchist FAQ reading group how they like it as an starting point. (Just saw that you already commen...

Thank you for the thread link, it does have interesting information and other links.

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TotallyWorthLife (She/Her) lemmy.world TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-05-13
#8 · Quote Reply

Anarchy works answers most frequently asked questions.

Okay, thank you. I'll read it, too.

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TotallyWorthLife (She/Her) lemmy.world TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-05-13
#9 · Quote Reply

The FAQ is huge and reading it is as dry and boring as reading The Bible, The Silmarillion, or legal texts. A good alternative is Now and After. It was specifically written to be more accessible than most political texts. Berkman's work explains anarchist philosophy in terms that uninitiated readers can understand. The book's chapters are brief, and many of them begin with questions (e.g., "Is ...

Thank you. I hope it is accesible enough for me, I will read it.

I assume The Anarchist Library is a pretty good source, given I have seen it referenced several times now.

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A404 lemmy.dbzer0.com A404@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2026-04-11
#10 · Quote Reply

Nothing in particular, but I can say texts are usually hard for me.

How about videos?

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TotallyWorthLife (She/Her) lemmy.world TotallyWorthLife@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-05-13
#11 · Quote Reply

How about videos?

That could work, at least to start, thank you.

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A404 lemmy.dbzer0.com A404@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2026-04-11
#12 · Quote Reply

That could work, at least to start, thank you.

You are welcome. If you have any questions then feel free to ask around :>

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